Grundy Reporter

A tax law passed by the State of Illinois in 2017 has myriad issues, according to the Better Government Association.

In an article from the Herald Review, critics noted the law was originally meant to promote diversity in the state's commerce by requiring companies that received tax breaks by the state to report how much of their product comes from women- and minority-owned vendors. However, in the three years since the law's passing, a majority of that data has not been reported. There are 119 Illinois companies that have accumulated more than $150 million in tax breaks have yet to submit any such report. Additionally, out of the 61 businesses that did provide a report, almost 75 percent of them did not provide the specific data the law was meant to gather.

The Better Government Association said these problems can be largely blamed on Gov. J.B. Pritzker's administration, and the administration of his predecessor, Bruce Rauner. The article said the current and former governor "failed to enforce the law, according to the sponsors of the legislation," by allowing the tax breaks to continue for companies that failed to submit the minority- and women-owned vendor forms. 

The report found that even in the firms that did submit the forms, the administrations allowed the law to be interpreted as companies could file paperwork that was missing crucial information. The result, the Better Government Association said, is a lack of any significant data that would have offered insight into how much large companies seeking breaks from the taxpayers are patronizing women- and minority-owed vendors. 

The article said that the legislation's sponsors are calling for tough action by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the agency responsible for the program's management. 

“We’re asking the enforcement body, which is the Department of Commerce, to tell these companies, ‘If you’re filing these reports, you should be filing them with data,’” said state Rep. Will Davis (D-Homewood), a co-sponsor of the changes to the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy jobs program, said. “That’s the expectation.”

State Sen. Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) sponsored the Senate's version of the tax bill, and told the Herald Review that she is "disappointed it has been interpreted so favorably to companies seeking taxpayer assistance."

“We’re giving you state tax dollars. Where are you trying to expand the diversity when it comes to minority-owned spending?” said Castro. “It’s terrible.”

DCEO spokeswoman Lauren Huffman said the agency interpreted the law to grandfather out companies that were receiving tax breaks before the 2017 law passed, and that the law does not require companies to start collecting minority data for the reporting that they weren't already collecting before. 

“We will continue to work with EDGE companies to expand compliance with the 2017 law and look forward to working with the General Assembly to determine where changes could be made to the current statute and to enhance diversity reporting by Illinois companies and their contractors,” Huffman said.